Current carrying capacity is the maximum number of amperes (amps) that can flow through an insulated conductor before the insulation breaks down. Heat caused by an electrical current flowing through a conductor, will determine the amount of current a wire can handle.
Current carrying capacity is the maximum number of amperes (amps) that can flow through an insulated conductor before the insulation breaks down. Heat caused by an
electrical current flowing through a conductor, will determine the amount of current a
wire can handle. While there are many factors that will limit the amount of current that
can be passed through a wire, there are five major parameters to consider…
| AWG Size | Dielectric/Copper Temperature | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| @ 80°C | @ 90°C | @ 105°C | @ 125°C | @ 200°C | |
| 30 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| 28 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 26 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 24 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 |
| 22 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 |
| 20 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 17 |
| 18 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 24 |
| 16 | 29 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 32 |
| 14 | 27 | 30 | 33 | 40 | 45 |
| 12 | 36 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 |
| 10 | 47 | 55 | 58 | 70 | 75 |
| # Of Bundled Conductors | De-rate / Reduction Factor (x Amps) |
|---|---|
| 2-5 | 0.8 |
| 6-15 | 0.7 |
| 16-30 | 0.5 |
Example: 8 conductors of 26 AWG at 90°C = 5 x 0.7 = 3.5 amperes max, each conductor.
Note: For Flat Ribbon configurations with greater than 30 conductors, use 0.5 de-rate factor.
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